The Pleebo City Corporation (PCC) has donated a newly constructed hand pump to New York Community, a neglected community within the municipality. Despite efforts by the national government and partners to provide safe drinking water, access to adequate drinking water remains a significant challenge in rural areas.
Many hand pumps constructed by international and local organizations in post-war Liberia are no longer functional due to lack of maintenance. In Pleebo, a densely populated city in southeast Liberia, the Friends of Liberia organization undertook the construction of hand pumps to address the issue of safe drinking water in some communities.
Mayor Larry Geekor of Pleebo City handed over the newly constructed hand pump to residents of the New York community in Zone 4c. He emphasized his office’s focus on addressing the essential needs of Pleebo city, particularly in the areas of water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Mayor Geekor acknowledged the contribution of Friends of Liberia, a local NGO, in addressing the community’s urgent need for safe drinking water. He urged residents to ensure proper maintenance of the hand pump.
“Two months ago we received Friends of Liberia, a local NGO working in the areas of water and sanitation and agriculture in Liberia; from the discussion we had, they agreed to undertake a quick impact project by erecting a hand pump and so we selected zone 4c, known as New York community and this a the pump we are turning over,” he said.
The community chairman, Atee S. Toe, expressed gratitude to Friends of Liberia for their humanitarian service and applauded Mayor Geekor for selecting Zone 4c to benefit from the hand pump project.
Chairman Toe also highlighted the ongoing security threat in the community due to the lack of electricity and urged the city authorities and other stakeholders to work towards providing electricity to enhance security measures.
“As we speak the community is in a serious security threat due the lack of electricity, although the community watch forum is helping in the process in fighting the security threat,” Toe said. “But at least with the help of electricity, it will be minimized.”
